Abrasive water jet polishing has significant advantages in the manufacturing of complex optical components (such as high-slope optical component cavities) that require high-precision manufacturing. This is due to its processing process, in which the polishing tool does not make direct contact with the surface of the workpiece, and instead maintains a considerable distance. However, the removal functions of most existing abrasive water-jet polishing technologies do not possess strict symmetry, which significantly impacts the ability to correct surface figure errors. Therefore, this study implements rotating abrasive water-jet polishing based on traditional abrasive water jet processing to optimize the removal function, which turns it into a Gaussian form; thus, obtaining a type of removal function more suitable for CCOS polishing. This paper derives an empirical formula between the distance s’ from the peak removal point of the removal function to the stagnation point and the nozzle tilt angle α, based on geometric relationships and experimental results, analyzes the relationship between material removal efficiency, nozzle tilt angle, and standoff distance. Finally, this paper verifies through experiments the validity of this empirical formula under different process parameters. Therefore, this study obtains the process conditions that allow rotating abrasive water-jet polishing technology to achieve a stable Gaussian form removal function, and the appropriate process parameters to be selected in conjunction with polishing efficiency; thereby, effectively improving the removal function’s corrective ability and manufacturing efficiency. It provides theoretical support for the processing capability and process parameter selection of abrasive water-jet polishing technology, solves the problem of limited shaping capability of existing abrasive water jet tools, and significantly improves the manufacturing capability of high-end optical components.

Abrasive water jet polishing (AWJP), as an ultra-precision machining technology, has unique machining advantages. However, the machining application of nozzles in vertical and inclined states is greatly limited because rotational symmetric material removal characteristics and the largest amount of central material removal cannot be obtained. At the same time, considering the many controllable and uncontrollable factors in AWJP, it is difficult to accurately model the removal characteristics obtained by machining. Based on the idea of the Preston equation and the calculation of fluid dynamics, this study first analyzed the material removal characteristics of a single abrasive particle and used FLUENT fluid simulation software to obtain the pressure and velocity distributions at different positions in the processes of nozzle rotation and tilt polishing. By analyzing the influence of the pressure and velocity distributions on material removal and the surface shear stress of the workpiece, a theoretical model of the material removal characteristics of abrasive water jet polishing under rotating oblique incidence was established. Finally, the effectiveness of the theoretical removal model was verified by comparing and analyzing experimental and theoretical results.